MIAMI – Tyrese Maxey scored 37 points and Joel Embiid added 29 to ignite the Philadelphia 76ers in a 109-105 victory at the Miami Heat on April 4 and boost their National Basketball Association (NBA) play-off chances.

Maxey added 11 assists and nine rebounds, just missing a triple-double in 41 minutes on the court as the Sixers improved to 42-35, eighth in the Eastern Conference but only a game behind the sixth-placed Indiana Pacers.

Sixers coach Nick Nurse told ESPN: “It was a tough environment and it was a team that are super athletic and physical that had (us) up against the ropes and kept on swinging, and we somehow got out of there.”

The top six in each conference take the NBA play-off berths, while teams in the seventh to 10th positions face play-in games for the last two available spots.

Maxey had missed the past two games for Philadelphia with a hip injury, but in his first game alongside Embiid in more than two months, the duo were dominating.

“I’m tired,” Maxey said. “Normally when you come back you get to play 32 minutes, but Nurse asked me and I said I’m all good. I can play as much as you need me to.”

Philadelphia, 2-0 since the return of reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Embiid from a knee injury, fell out of the top six while the Cameroonian big man was injured but hope to catch up in their final five games.

Miami, led by Terry Rozier’s 22 points, fell to 42-34, seventh in the East.

In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to six games with a 133-110 victory at the Houston Rockets, boosting their lead over the only team that can knock them out of a play-in spot.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each scored 29 points to lead the Warriors, who led 65-50 at half-time and rolled in the second half.

The Rockets lost their 13th consecutive regular-season meeting with Golden State, a team they have not beaten since February 2020.

At 42-34, Golden State hold the 10th and final West play-in spot while Houston slid to 38-38, four games behind the Warriors with six games remaining.

Meanwhile, Paul George scored 28 points to lead hosts the Los Angeles Clippers over defending champions Denver 102-100 despite a triple-double by Nikola Jokic in a losing cause.

Two-time NBA MVP Jokic had 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists and the Nuggets grabbed a 31-20 lead after the first quarter before the Clippers battled back.

“Big win, especially because we’ve been losing at home,” George said. “We had a slow start. We’ve got to be better, but it’s a big win. They are defending champs. We did a great job of just staying in the game and we fought hard.”

The Clippers’ bench outscored Denver’s reserves 34-9.

“We’ve got guys that we can plug in and they give us a big boost,” George said. “They give us great energy. Those guys gave us a lift when we were flat in the first quarter and they got us into the game.”

Each team were missing a top star with Jamal Murray out for Denver and Kawhi Leonard missing for the Clippers.

Denver fell to 53-24, half a game behind Western leaders the Minnesota Timberwolves and half a game ahead of the third-placed Oklahoma City Thunder.

Elsewhere, Kyrie Irving scored 26 points and Luka Doncic added 25 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists to power the Dallas Mavericks over the visiting Atlanta Hawks 109-95.

Dallas, 46-30, remained fifth in the West, a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns in the fight for a top-six finish and a secure play-off spot.

New York’s Jalen Brunson scored 35 points and passed off 11 assists while Josh Hart contributed 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to spark the Knicks over the visiting Sacramento Kings 120-109. AFP